JP5752695B2 - Electronically controlled parking and brake system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to the field of electronically controlled vehicle parking and braking systems.

  U.S. Patent No. 6,057,031 describes an electronically controlled vehicle parking and braking system that is particularly suitable for commercial vehicles such as trucks. This document describes a parking and braking system that can include a spring-biased pneumatic parking and braking actuator. The parking brake actuator applies a force to a possible parking brake device such as a disc brake or drum brake. The force applied by the actuator is a balance between the force of the spring that tends to actuate the parking brake on one side and the force exerted by the air pressure in the cylinder that counteracts the spring force on the other side. By controlling the pressure in the pneumatic cylinder, the force generated by the spring is completely applied to the brake device when there is no pressure in the cylinder, so that the parking brake is fully energized No, or when the pneumatic pressure in the cylinder exceeds the spring force, no force is applied to the brake device, which can control whether the parking brake is completely de-energized It is.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an electronically controlled vehicle in which an ECU that controls a parking / brake operating module receives information from an input device including an operation member whose position is monitored by a micro switch or a linear sensor such as a potentiometer. A parking and brake system is disclosed. This input device includes an electrical connector through which the microswitch or sensor will be connected to the ECU.

European Patent No. 1406805 International Publication No. 2003/097423

  One object of the present invention is to provide an improved electronically controlled vehicle parking and braking system that is easy and reliable to mount a parking and brake input device on the vehicle.

In view of the above objects, the present invention provides a parking and braking system for a vehicle, in which the parking and braking system is electronically controlled through a parking and brake ECU so that the user of the vehicle can park and brake. A proportional braking effect is achieved according to a signal received from a parking / brake input device capable of controlling the degree of energization, and the parking / brake input device (10)
An operating member that can be displaced with respect to the base between the first and second positions by the user to control the degree of parking and brake energization;
-At least one sensor for determining the instantaneous position of the operating member relative to the base between the first position and the second position;
-Including a controller circuit for generating a digital signal indicating the degree of parking / brake activation required by the user and for transmitting this digital signal to at least the parking / brake ECU.

In addition, according to possible supplementary features,
-The controller circuit can be integrated with the parking and brake input device.
-The controller circuit can be mounted on the base of the parking and brake input device.
The controller circuit can be programmed to perform an operational status diagnosis of the input device and to send a digital default signal if one of the components of the input device is faulty.
-The operating member is mechanically biased to automatically return to the neutral position, to perform an analysis of the deviation between the theoretical neutral position of the operating member and the actual neutral position of the operating member, and the parking brake A controller circuit can be programmed to compensate for the deviation when generating and / or communicating a digital signal indicating the degree of activation of the signal.
The controller circuit can receive an analog signal from at least one operating member position sensor;
The parking / brake ECU is remote from the parking / brake input device and the controller circuit can communicate with the parking / brake ECU via the digital data bus.
The controller circuit can communicate with the parking brake ECU via a multi-communication digital data bus;
The sensor for determining the instantaneous position of the operating member relative to the base can include a magnetoresistive sensor;
The parking / brake input device identifies an additional position outside the range comprising between the first and second positions of at least one of the operating members, and a predefined digital signal for that position Can be transmitted to.
The parking / brake input device identifies at least a third position of the operating member, and the parking / brake ECU can control the deactivation of the parking / brake at that position;
The parking / brake input device identifies at least a fourth position of the operating member, and the parking / brake ECU can perform a brake installation test for that position;
The parking and brake input device can include an operating member in the form of a lever articulated to the base;
The parking / brake ECU can electronically control the parking / brake / actuator to create a proportional force to be applied to the parking / brake device to achieve a proportional braking effect;
-The parking brake actuator is a spring-biased pneumatic cylinder, in which the spring creates a force applied to the parking brake device, and the air pressure in the cylinder counteracts the spring force and parks • The force applied to the brake device can be effectively controlled.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a possible integration of an electronic input device within a parking and braking system according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating another possible variation of integration of an electronic input device within a parking and braking system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a controller circuit for an input device according to the present invention. A to D are schematic views illustrating the four main positions of the operating member of a possible embodiment of an input device according to the present invention. 3 is a flow chart that schematically represents the main steps of a method for controlling the activation of a parking brake system according to the present invention. 4 is a flow chart that schematically represents the main steps of a method for controlling the deactivation of a parking brake system according to the present invention. Fig. 3 is a flow chart that schematically represents the main steps of a more refined method for controlling the deactivation of a parking brake system according to the present invention.

  The present invention relates to a parking and braking system, such as a parking and braking system that can be attached to a commercial vehicle such as a heavy truck having a maximum gross weight of 7.5 to 120 tons.

  Such vehicles are often equipped with a pneumatic brake system, where pressurized air is stored in a tank and sent to a service brake actuator that provides the braking force required for vehicle deceleration. It is done.

  Such brake systems typically include at least one parking brake actuator that can generate a braking force that stops and maintains the vehicle through the parking brake device.

  In many cases, the parking brake actuator is different from the service brake actuator, but is often integrated into a common hardware component, and in many cases both actuators are the same disc brake or drum Acts on brake devices such as brakes. Nevertheless, it is possible to apply the present invention in a system having an actuator that performs both parking and service brake functions, or in a system having separate parking and service brake devices. .

  The force required to achieve satisfactory parking and braking is usually less than that required to achieve service braking. On the other hand, the parking / braking force must remain applied for a long period of time, and this must be maintained even when the vehicle's power transmission mechanism is not operating. I must. Thus, parking brake actuators for such brake systems are often assembled as spring-biased actuators, in which the spring provides the braking force, and the acting force provided by the spring is Within the actuator, it can be counteracted by allowing the application of fluid pressure within the pressure chamber of the actuator. The fluid pressure can completely counteract the acting force provided by the spring and completely deenergize the parking brake. With such an actuator, the parking brake is applied by simply letting air out of the pressure chamber of the actuator. The parking brake is kept applied by venting the pressure chamber, i.e. opening to atmospheric pressure, or very little residual pressure. The parking brake is in this case considered to be locked in the applied state. Other types of parking / brake / actuators may require special mechanisms to lock and maintain the parking / brake in its applied state.

  In the parking brake system according to the present invention, the parking brake actuator is controlled electronically. In other words, the amount of acting force provided to the parking brake device by the parking brake actuator is controlled through at least one parking brake ECU (electronic control unit). The parking / brake ECU can be a dedicated ECU, as shown below, or it can be embedded in a multi-function ECU that performs other control functions. It can also be implemented as a fragmented ECU, in which parking brake control is achieved through the use of several ECUs, each performing part of the control task. It should be noted here, especially in the case of heavy-duty trucks, that the parking / brake ECU not only controls the parking / brake / actuator, but also the trailer or semi-trailer brakes or in certain cases It may be designed to achieve parking and braking functions by controlling even the brakes.

  In the following, the invention will be described with reference to a vehicle equipped with a pneumatic system, in which the parking brake system acts on a parking brake device such as a disc brake device or a drum brake device, for example. Includes actuators that are spring biased pneumatic actuators.

  The system can include an air compressor operable by a vehicle engine or by an electric machine. Compressed air delivered from the compressor can be delivered to a pneumatic management device that includes several secondary devices associated with the air dryer, the main pneumatic regulator, and different outputs of the pneumatic management device. A pneumatic regulator can be included. Each output of the device is connected to an air consumption circuit that can include first and second service brake air circuits, parking and brake air circuits, air suspension circuits, trailer brake circuits, auxiliary circuits, etc. Become. Pressurized air delivered to various air consumption circuits is controlled to at least minimum and maximum pressure levels, and various primary and secondary regulators allow leaks in one consumption circuit to leak throughout the vehicle's pneumatic circuit Form a protection system to prevent. Various regulators are controlled to isolate leaking circuits from other circuits that can continue to operate.

  The pneumatic parking / brake circuit includes a valve or a set of valves that controls the supply of pressurized air to the parking / brake / actuator. Such parking brake valve assemblies may increase the air pressure in the actuator by allowing more air into the pressure chamber of the actuator or release the pressure by letting air out of the pressure chamber of the actuator. Allows control of air pressure within the parking, brake and actuator to be lowered. Although this valve assembly is a traditional simple manual pneumatic valve installed in the cabin of a vehicle that will be operated directly by the driver, the parking brake system according to the present invention is in most cases , With regard to pneumatic parking, brakes and actuators, electronically controlled valve assemblies are provided anywhere in the parking / brake air circuit to achieve the above control of air pressure within the parking / brake / actuator To include.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a pneumatic management device in which a valve assembly for controlling the pressure in a parking brake, and an actuator is included in the pneumatic management device. However, the present invention is within a parking brake system that includes an electronically controlled valve assembly that can be integrated with, for example, a parking brake actuator, or can be independent of the pneumatic management device and actuator. It can also be implemented. It should be understood that in many cases an electronically controlled valve assembly is an electronically controlled pilot valve that fluidly induces a fluidly controlled main valve. For example, including a proportional electromagnetic valve.

  In the system according to the invention, the parking and braking system can be at least partly controlled by the vehicle driver. Thus, the parking and brake system according to the present invention includes a parking and brake input device through which the driver can indicate to the system his or her intention to activate or deactivate the parking and brake.

  In addition, in the system according to the present invention, the system includes a parking brake actuator that can be controlled to create a proportional force that is applied to the parking brake device to achieve a proportional braking effect. . The term proportional means that the actuator provides a full parking / braking force, no braking force, and at least some braking force intermediate between them. It means that control is possible. It also means that these intermediate braking forces can be maintained in response to driver input. In other words, the proportional control of the actuator is completely different from the simple on / off control, and the above transition is 1 for the on / off control with the transition mode given between the on mode and the off mode. It is quite different, including when it is gradual according to one or several predefined force versus time curves.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one possible implementation of a parking and brake input device within a parking and braking system according to the present invention.

  In this embodiment of the present invention, the parking / brake input device 10 includes a base 12 and an operating member 14 that can be displaced by the user with respect to the base 12 to control the degree of parking / brake urging. It is shown. In this embodiment, the operating member 14 includes a lever articulated to the base 12, but the operating member can take other forms, such as a slider form. The operation member can be displaced by the user from at least a first position that can be a neutral position to a second position. As described below, the first position is a neutral position to indicate that no changes in parking / brake conditions are required, and / or when the parking / brake system is in proportional bias mode, It is possible to set the position to indicate that no parking / brake energization is required. The second position can be a position to indicate that a complete braking effect is required. The first and second positions can be positions at both ends, but as in the example described below, the operating member can have additional positions. At least one sensor 16 is provided to determine the instantaneous position of the operating member 14 with respect to the base 12. The sensor 16 is preferably a non-contact type, and most preferably a magnetoresistive type. Also, preferably at least two sensors 16 are provided to achieve redundancy that increases the degree of safety of the input device. When two sensors are provided, they are preferably installed and operated in combination to achieve better accuracy in determining the position of the operating member than if only one sensor is used. . When the operating member includes a lever articulated to the base, one or more sensors are preferably mounted in the vicinity of the axis of articulation.

  According to the present invention, the parking / brake input device 10 generates a digital signal indicating the degree of parking / brake activation requested by the user, and transmits this digital signal to at least the parking / brake ECU. The controller circuit 18 is also included.

  Preferably, the controller circuit 18 is integrated with the parking / brake input device 10. In other words, the controller circuit 18 is connected to the other components of the parking and brake input device 10 and on a larger vehicle sub-assembly such as a vehicle dashboard or vehicle console that they can be pre-assembled. Are structurally connected to form a common structural unit that can be mounted as a single unit. For example, the controller circuit 18 can be mounted on the base 12 of the parking and brake input device.

  Preferably, the controller circuit 18 communicates with the parking brake ECU via a digital data bus. Such a data bus may be a serial communication data bus. Examples of data buses that are widely used in the automotive industry and are suitable for this application are systems known as CAN bus, LIN bus, or FLEXRAY bus. Such data buses support multiplexing, thereby allowing different pieces of information to be transmitted over the same physical communication channel.

  FIG. 1 shows an example in which a controller circuit 18 is connected to a parking brake ECU through a shared data bus 19, ie a data bus where other ECUs and / or controllers are connected through the same data bus. Has been. FIG. 2 shows an example in which the controller circuit 18 is connected to the parking / brake ECU 20 through a dedicated data bus. This dedicated data bus is, for example, a LIN bus operating on a single wire 22. FIG. 2 shows that the controller circuit 18 can also be connected to the brake ECU through the power supply line 24 and the ground line 26. In the example of FIG. 2, the parking / brake ECU itself is connected to a shared data bus 28 which can be a CAN bus, for example. It should be noted that the communication between the controller circuit 18 and the parking / brake ECU 20 can also be performed through wireless means such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (Bluetooth) connection. is there.

  FIG. 3 shows a circuit diagram of an example of a controller circuit 18 suitable for the parking / brake input device 10 according to the present invention. The heart of the controller circuit 18 is, for example, a microcontroller 30. The microcontroller 30 is an integrated chip that includes a central processing unit CPU, ROM and RAM, and at least one clock. The microcontroller 30 receives an analog signal from the sensor 16 as an input. In the case described in FIG. 3, two magnetoresistive sensors 16 are used to determine the position of the operating member, and the controller circuit includes two differential amplifiers each receiving two analog signals from one sensor. It can be observed that the amplification stage 32 is included. The amplified differential signal corresponding to each sensor is supplied as an input to the microcontroller 30, which in this case also includes an integrated analog to digital converter stage. The analog-to-digital converter can be a separate chip on the controller circuit 18. The controller circuit also includes a transceiver 34 connected to the output of the microcontroller 30 that can broadcast the digital information processed by the microcontroller 30 on a digital data bus. According to the present invention, the controller circuit 18 thus generates a digital signal indicating the degree of parking / brake energization requested by the user, here related to the angular position of the operating member 14 relative to the base 12; The digital signal can be transmitted to at least the parking / brake ECU 20.

  A digital signal indicating the degree of parking / brake activation requested by the user can be generated in a number of ways. It can be very simply the angular difference between the determined position of the operating member and the neutral position. It can also be the calculated linear movement distance of one given point of the operating member between the neutral position and the determined position. Alternatively, any of the angles or distances mentioned above can be expressed as a percentage of the total angle or distance between the neutral position of the operating member and the fully braking position.

  The integration of the controller circuit within the parking and brake input device has distinct advantages. In fact, this naturally allows for the circulation of digital information, not analog information, between the parking / brake input device 10 and the parking / brake ECU 20. The two components of the system can therefore be placed at various locations in the vehicle without much concern regarding the communication of information between the two because of the greater immunity of digital communications to problems such as interference It is. Also, the integration of the operating member 14 and the sensor 16 in the same device 10 into the controller circuit 18 makes it possible, for example, to compile information coming from several sensors into just one signal. This makes it possible, for example, to have a plurality of sensors on the input device, but the wiring between the input device 10 and the parking and brake ECU 20 is very limited. As shown above, in this case, the input device 10 requires at least one physical wire 22 required for communication with the parking / brake ECU 20 at least when implemented as LIN bus communication. Nevertheless, it has a quality and reliable signal in terms of both physical integrity and logical content.

  4A-D, various positions of the operating member 14 with respect to the base according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention are shown.

  4B and C respectively illustrate the two most important positions of the operating member, the neutral position and the full braking position.

  When the brake system is operating in the proportional mode, the neutral position of the operating member 14 corresponds to a position where no parking / brake urging is required. When the controller circuit 18 recognizes that the operation member 14 is in the neutral position through the position sensor 16, the controller circuit 18 transmits a signal indicating the state of the operation member to the parking / brake ECU 20. The parking actuator can be controlled so that no force is generated. On the other hand, the operating member 14 is biased towards its neutral position, which is also the rest or release position for the operating member, so that if the parking brake system is not in the proportional mode, the parking brake ECU is neutral. The position is interpreted as a request to maintain the parking brake system in the current, either applied or de-energized state.

  The complete braking position of the operating member 14 corresponds to a position where the maximum braking force is required.

  According to the invention, the parking / brake input device 10 can not only determine these two positions, but also determine at least some intermediate positions between these two positions, after which the ECU In order to control the parking / brake / actuator so that the braking force to be generated is generated, a signal indicating these intermediate positions can be generated to the parking / brake ECU 20. More precisely, the parking / brake ECU controls the predetermined pressure supplied to the parking / brake / actuator, controls the predetermined braking torque generated by the parking / brake device, or It can be programmed to control a predetermined deceleration of the vehicle. Most preferably, the input device is able to determine and communicate dozens of positions, possibly dozens of positions within the main range between the neutral and fully braking positions. The sensor 16 that can be used to determine the position of the operating member can be analog so that an infinite number of positions can be theoretically determined, but analog-to-digital conversion is automatically and completely It will be inferred that only a finite number of operating member positions within the main range R1 extending between the braking positions can be determined and transmitted to the parking and brake ECU. In particular, it is desirable for the number of intermediate positions determinable by the input device 10 to be felt substantially continuously to the driver by a perceivable variation in the braking force along that range. It should be noted here that in the proportional mode, the braking force applied by the system is proportional to the instantaneous position of the operating member 14. The term “proportional” means that the applied braking force gradually changes following the position of the operating member as the position of the operating member varies. On the other hand, it is preferable that the braking force changes slowly in the first part of the main range and changes more rapidly in the second part of the main range, for example to improve control accuracy for low braking requirements. The proportionality need not be linear. Basically, the proportionality can be considered to be defined by a braking curve that links the actual braking force to the detected position of the operating member. Such a braking curve can be tailored for each application depending on the physical design of the operating member or the type of vehicle. It may also specify that several braking curves may be implemented for a given vehicle depending on several operating parameter (s) of the vehicle, eg vehicle speed, vehicle weight. it can. Further, it may be provided that the vehicle user can select one of several braking curves or sets of curves based on personal preferences.

  FIG. 4A shows that the operating member can be displaced from its neutral position toward the parking / brake deactivation position along a direction opposite to the main movement direction toward the fully braking position. The parking / brake deactivation position can be realized by the end / stop of the operation member. The input device 10 according to the invention naturally determines a number of intermediate positions of the operating member 14 along this opposite range of the position R2 and transmits these positions to the parking and brake ECU 20. Is technically possible. However, regardless of the fact that the position of the operating member can be determined pseudo-continuously along this opposite range, the parking / brake deactivation is controlled by the ECU 20 in a simple on / off manner, In other words, after the operating member reaches the threshold position within the range of the opposite side position, it can be selected that it is directly controlled to the de-energized state of the actuator. The threshold position can be the end position of this range or an intermediate position. It should be noted that the ECU can control the deactivation of the parking / brake in various ways. For example, it is possible to start deactivation only when the operating member is released by the user after reaching the threshold position. It can also be specified that deactivation is only performed if other conditions are met simultaneously or subsequently. In the latter case, the ECU can store the deactivation request.

  FIG. 4D shows that the operating member can be displaced in its main direction towards a test position beyond the fully braking position. In fact, even when a fully loaded trailer or semi-trailer is coupled, the vehicle parking and braking system can hold the vehicle in the event of a trailer brake failure, or the trailer or semi-trailer brake operates. It is known to incorporate a so-called “trailer test” position to be tested in a parking brake control system. The test position can be materialized by an end stop of the operating member, and the fully braking position can be achieved by increasing the resistance of the displacement of the operating member around the fully braking position, for example by a so-called “hard point”. It is possible to materialize. Along with the range of positions R3 extended from the fully braking position to the test position, the input device according to the invention naturally determines a number of intermediate positions and communicates these positions to the parking and brake ECU. It is technically possible to do. However, despite the fact that the position of the operating member can be determined quasi-continuously along this expanded range, after the operating member has reached a threshold position within the expanded position range, the trailer test Can be executed. The threshold position can be the end position of this expanded range or an intermediate position.

  Having a multiplexed communication data bus can allow other pieces of information to be transmitted from the controller circuit to the parking brake ECU. For example, it may be specified that the controller circuit transmits to the parking / brake ECU specific information relating to when the operating handle reaches a predetermined position, such as one of the four positions defined above. It can also be provided that specific information regarding whether or not the operating handle is within a predefined range of positions, such as ranges R1, R2, or R3, is provided to the ECU.

  An additional advantage of having a controller circuit integrated with the input device is that automatic calibration and / or automatic diagnosis of the input device 10 can be performed upstream of the communication channel with the parking and brake ECU 20.

  For example, the controller circuit 18 can be programmed to detect that the actual physical position of the operating member does not correspond to the theoretical position at an early stage or due to the use of an input device. Such offsets may be due, for example, to mechanical tolerances on the components of the input device and its assembly, or as another example, they may result from component wear. Or due to operating temperature. For example, the controller circuit 18 can be programmed to examine in detail the actual rest position and / or the end position of the operating member. If it detects that such a position has been iteratively and consistently determined with an offset that is compared to the expected value, the controller may detect one or more sensors according to the detected offset. It is possible to compensate for the measured value by, and to send a digital signal after compensation to the parking / brake ECU. For example, the input device is expected to transmit a signal comprising a value between 0 and 100 that proportionally indicates the position of the operating member between the neutral position and the fully braking position, the latter being the end When either at the stop position or at a position corresponding to an increase in movement resistance, the auto-calibration process may, for example, due to mechanical reasons, the operating member does not return completely to its theoretical neutral position; and Even if the theoretical full braking position is not fully reached, it can be ensured that the range of valid values ranges from 0 to 100.

  It is also possible to program the controller circuit 18 to perform an automatic diagnosis of the input device 10, for example so that it can be detected that the sensor is in default. For example, to send only the most reliable information if there is a clear discrepancy between the values received from two sensors, or if the signal from one sensor is clearly abnormal, and It is possible to program the controller circuit to send a default signal to the parking / brake ECU 20 indicating a malfunction of the parking / brake input device 10. Of course, it is also possible to program the controller circuit to determine a default dangerous state and send a corresponding signal to the parking and brake ECU. Another automatic diagnostic function can be linked to the automatic calibration process. For example, if the offset detected between the actual position of the operating member and the theoretically given position exceeds a certain threshold, this offset should not be compensated and / or a corresponding default Can be diagnosed to be transmitted to the parking and brake ECU. As a matter of course, in addition to the signal indicating the degree of parking / brake activation required by the user, a default signal may be transmitted to the parking / brake ECU 20 by the input device 10 through the same digital communication channel. It is possible by

  Autocalibration and / or autodiagnosis of the input device performed by the input device itself, because the controller circuit is built into it, the diagnosis and / or calibration is performed in a remote ECU Since there is no disturbance due to the required communication channel between the input device and the corresponding ECU, it is possible to carry out those routines more accurately and more reliably.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of one aspect of a parking brake system control method, particularly a method for controlling the parking brake system bias. Such a method can be advantageously performed using the system described above.

  The method begins at step 100 by detecting that the driver has pulled the operating member of the parking and brake input device from its neutral position toward the fully braking position. This activates the parking and brake activation sequence. Subsequently, the system enters a proportional mode at step 110, where a braking force is generated by the parking and braking system in proportion to the position of the operating member. Thereafter, two subroutines can be selected according to the speed of the vehicle at the time of starting the sequence. If the vehicle speed V is less than the first threshold V1 when examined in step 120, it is determined that the vehicle is stopped or almost stopped. Thereafter, in step 130, it is checked whether full braking has been requested before the operating member is released. If it is positive, the parking and brake system is locked with it applied. If it is detected in step 130 that the operating member has not been moved to the fully braking position, the parking brake system remains in proportional mode until the operating member is released, and in step 210 the operating member is released. Occasionally parking / brake systems are deactivated.

  If the speed of the vehicle at the start of this sequence is higher than the threshold V1 in the check of step 120, the operation member remains in the proportional mode and before the vehicle speed becomes lower than the second threshold V2 in step 200. Check if has been released. If so, in step 210, the parking brake system is deactivated when the operating member is released. If not, it is determined that the vehicle has stopped, is about to stop, or is a pseudo stop, and proceeds to step 130 as described above.

  When applying this type of method, if the vehicle speed is lower than the first threshold speed at the start of the parking / brake activation sequence, or less than the second threshold speed at the end of the parking / brake activation sequence. If it is low, the parking brake is locked in the applied state at the end of the sequence. In contrast, if the vehicle speed at the start of the parking / brake activation sequence is higher than the first threshold speed and higher than the second threshold speed at the end of the parking / brake activation sequence, The parking brake is released at the end of the braking sequence.

  In the method described above, the two threshold speeds V1 and V2 can be equal. It is also possible to define that further parking, braking and locking positions can be defined after the complete braking position of the input device. In that case instead of such a parking / brake / locking position as a full braking position as described above with the trigger to be able to lock the parking / brake system in the applied state. Can be a trigger for it. Full braking position and parking / brake / locking position can be "separated" by "hard point" in the movement of the input device so that both positions can be clearly detected by the user of the system is there.

  FIG. 6 represents an example of one embodiment of a control method for operating an electronically controlled parking brake system, in particular a method for controlling the deactivation of the parking brake. Such a method does not require the system to be able to proportionally control the application of parking and braking, but it can nevertheless be implemented using a parking and braking system as described above. . This method aspect is, of course, compatible with the method aspect described in connection with FIG.

  The method of FIG. 6 operates when the parking / brake system is in a state where parking / braking is applied, and in effect, in step 300, a user, for example, a vehicle driver, requests a deactivation through a parking / brake input device. Start the deactivation sequence by starting In the parking / brake system situation described above, the driver can initiate a deactivation request by pushing the operating member to the parking / brake deactivation position and at least to the threshold position.

  Thereafter, in step 310, it is checked whether the request has been maintained for at least the time period T1. This first time period can be calculated from the start of the request. Such a first time period T1 can be, for example, in the range of 1 second. If not maintained in the meantime, the deactivation request is considered invalid and the deactivation sequence is aborted. Parking and brakes are not extinguished. This step 310 of the method includes checking at frequent time intervals over a period of time whether the driver is maintaining the request. In this example, this may include a simple check that the operating handle is maintained for a period of time from a neutral position to a threshold position that is equal to or farther away.

  If the request is maintained for at least the time period T1, the deactivation request is simply considered valid and it can trigger deactivation of the parking brake system. Such deactivation can, of course, be subordinate to other operating conditions being met.

  However, in this embodiment, a safer method is disclosed. In fact, if the request has been maintained for at least the time period T1, then in step 320 it is further checked whether the deactivation request is terminated before the second time period T2 which expires after the first period. To do. If this is not the case, that is, if the request is maintained after the second time period expires, the deactivation request is considered invalid and the deactivation sequence is aborted. The time period T2 can also be calculated from the start of the deactivation request and can have a duration on the order of 3-5 seconds. In contrast, if the request ends before the expiration of the second time period T2, the deactivation request is deemed valid and the method may proceed to deactivation of the parking brake system. it can. An information signal can be sent to the driver acknowledging that a valid deactivation request has been received, and a warning can be issued to the driver that the parking brake will be effectively de-energized. Such information signals can be, for example, auditory, visual, or tactile signals.

  In summary, according to this method, when the parking / brake deactivation request is maintained for at least a first time period and is terminated before a second time period that expires after the first time period. Parking and brakes are turned off.

  In this way, it is possible to avoid much of the unwanted deactivation of the parking brake system that can occur when there is an unintentional collision between a person or object and the parking brake input device. In fact, if such a collision is very short or too long, the parking brake system will not consider it a valid parking brake deactivation request.

  FIG. 7 represents an example of a more refined method for controlling the deactivation of the parking brake system. This method incorporates the previously described core method, but provides additional control conditions to effectively de-energize or de-energize the parking brake device.

  This method may require some precondition, for example, that the gearbox is functioning. In the case of a manual gearbox, for example, this can include a check that the gearbox is engaged with a gear ratio of one. In an automated mechanical gearbox, this can include a check that the gearbox selector is in the “retracted” or “drive” position. In conventional automatic gearboxes, this can include checking that the gearbox selector is not in the “parking” position.

  When the user initiates a turn-off request in step 400, it is checked in step 402 whether the user requests vehicle acceleration. For example, this can include checking whether the accelerator pedal is depressed. If this is the case, this method can directly turn off the parking brake. Nevertheless, in step 430, other operating conditions such as verification that the service brake is activated can be checked, but this step is optional, or the method can be It can be performed at another moment in time.

  In step 402, if there is no acceleration request by the user, the method proceeds to step 410, where the same checks are performed as in step 310 of the previous method. If the deactivation request is maintained for a period exceeding duration T1, optionally, in step 420, similar to step 320 of the method of FIG. 6, whether the deactivation request was terminated before the end of time period T2. You can check whether or not. If so, as described above, the parking and brake can be de-energized assuming that other operating conditions are checked in optional step 430.

  In step 410, the deactivation sequence is not systematically terminated when it is detected that the deactivation request has been terminated before the first time period T1 expires. In fact, in step 415, it is checked whether the driver has requested acceleration of the vehicle before the expiration of the third time period T3. If so, as described above, the parking and brake can be de-energized assuming that other operating conditions are checked in optional step 430. If not, the deactivation sequence can be stopped. This third time period T3 preferably expires after or simultaneously with the first time period T1.

  In a variation of this method, if step 420 is implemented, depending on the respective durations T2 and T3, a negative response in step 415 will first lead to step 420 (if T2> T3) and step 420 A negative response at can lead to step 415 (when T3> T2).

  In summary, in the method of FIG. 7, as in the method of FIG. 6, the parking / brake can be deactivated if the parking / brake deactivation request is maintained for at least the first time period. In addition, the parking / brake deactivation request can be initiated and the parking / brake can be de-energized if the user requests acceleration of the vehicle through the acceleration input device prior to the expiration of the third time period. If the acceleration request precedes the parking / brake deactivation request or is activated at the same time, the brake deactivation can be executed immediately. Although it starts later, if within the third time period, it is possible to perform brake deactivation immediately after the acceleration request.

  In all cases, either the method of FIG. 6 or the method of FIG. 7, brake de-energization, that the service brake is working and / or that the gearbox ratio is engaged It can be subordinated that other operating conditions such as are satisfied. Such operating conditions can be checked at various points in the method.

  One or all time periods T1, T2, T3 can be calculated from the start of the parking / brake deactivation request.

  Although the present invention has been described in relation to pneumatic parking / brake systems, any parking / brake system in which the actuator that generates the parking / braking force is electronically controlled, such as with hydraulic pressure, is involved. It should be understood that it can be applied to parking brake systems or parking brake systems with electromagnetic actuators that can be controlled electronically.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Parking / brake input device, input device 12 Base 14 Operation member 16 Sensor, magnetoresistive sensor 18 Controller circuit 19 Shared data bus 20 Parking / brake ECU, ECU
22 Wire 28 Shared Data Bus 30 Microcontroller 32 Amplification Stage 34 Transceiver

Claims (15)

A parking and braking system for a vehicle, wherein the parking and braking system is electronically controlled through a parking and brake ECU (20), and a user of the vehicle controls the degree of activation of the parking and brake. A proportional braking effect according to the signal received from the parking and brake input device (10) capable of
The parking / brake input device (10)
-The user can control the degree of bias of the parking brake by displacing with respect to the base (12) between a first position in a neutral position and a second position in a fully braking position; An operating member (14);
-At least one sensor (16) for determining the instantaneous position of the operating member (14) relative to the base (12) between the first position and the second position;
In the parking and brake system with
The parking / brake input device (10) further includes:
-To generate a digital signal indicating the degree of energization of the parking / brake required by the user and to transmit (19, 22) at least the digital signal to the parking / brake ECU (20) A controller circuit (18) including a central processing unit programmed to perform automatic calibration and / or automatic diagnosis of the parking and brake input device (10) ;
The automatic calibration is performed by detecting an offset of the position of the operating member (14) with respect to an expected value so that the effective range of the operating member is between the neutral position and the fully braking position. A parking and braking system characterized by ensuring that   The parking brake system according to claim 1, characterized in that the controller circuit (18) is integrated with the parking brake input device (10).   The parking brake system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the controller circuit (18) is mounted on the base (12) of the parking and brake input device (10).   The controller circuit (18) performs diagnostics of the operating state of the input device (10) and sends a digital default signal if one of the components of the input device (10) is malfunctioning A parking brake system according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is programmed to do so.   The operating member (14) is mechanically biased to automatically return to the neutral position, and the controller circuit includes a theoretical neutral position of the operating member and a virtual neutral position of the operating member; And is programmed to compensate when generating and / or communicating a digital signal indicating the degree of energization of the parking / brake if there is a deviation. The parking brake system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   The parking brake system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the controller circuit (18) receives an analog signal from the at least one operating member position sensor (16).   The parking / brake ECU (20) is remote from the parking / brake input device (10), and the controller circuit (18) is connected to the parking / brake ECU through a digital data bus (19, 22). The parking brake system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it communicates with (20).   8. The parking brake system according to claim 7, wherein the controller circuit communicates with the parking brake ECU (20) through a multiplex communication digital data bus (19, 22).   9. The parking / parking device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor (16) for determining an instantaneous position of the operating member (14) with respect to the base (12) includes a magnetoresistive sensor. Brake system.   The parking / brake input device (10) is capable of identifying at least one additional position outside the range constituting between the first position and the second position of the operating member (14); 10. Parking / brake system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a predefined digital signal about the position is transmitted to the parking / brake ECU (20).   The parking / brake input device (10) can identify at least the third position of the operation member (14), and the parking / brake ECU (20) can turn off the parking / brake for the position. 11. The parking brake system according to claim 1, wherein the parking brake system can be controlled.   The parking / brake input device (10) can identify at least a fourth position of the operation member (14), and the parking / brake ECU (20) performs a brake mounting test for the position. 12. A parking brake system according to claim 1, characterized in that it is characterized in that   13. The parking / brake input device (10) includes an operating member in the form of a lever (14) articulated to the base (12). Parking brake system.   The parking / brake ECU (20) electronically controls the parking / brake actuator to produce a proportional force to be applied to the parking / brake device to achieve a proportional braking effect. The parking brake system according to any one of claims 1 to 13.   The parking brake actuator is a spring biased pneumatic cylinder, the spring creates a force applied to the parking brake device, and the air pressure in the cylinder counteracts the spring force; 15. A parking brake system according to claim 14, characterized in that the force applied to the parking brake device is controlled.

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